Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41568020›Full record

ArticleJHLT open2026

Macitentan and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor alone or in combination in newly diagnosed pulmonary arterial hypertension: a pooled analysis.

Vallerie V McLaughlin, Nicolas Sauvageot, Brian Hennessy, Sumeet Panjabi, Carly J Paoli, Jörg Linder, Bjorn Bayer, Stefan Söderberg, Sean Gaine, Tobias J Lange and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JHLT open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Vallerie V McLaughlinDivision of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Nicolas SauvageotJohnson & Johnson, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Brian HennessyJohnson & Johnson, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Sumeet PanjabiJohnson & Johnson, Titusville, NJ.
Carly J PaoliJohnson & Johnson, Titusville, NJ.
Jörg LinderJohnson & Johnson-Cilag GmbH, Neuss, Germany.
Bjorn BayerJohnson & Johnson, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Stefan SöderbergDepartment of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Cardiology and Heart Centre, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Sean GaineNational Pulmonary Hypertension Unit, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Tobias J LangeDepartment of Pulmonology, Kreisklinik Bad Reichenhall, Bad Reichenhall, Germany.
Nick H KimDivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionUpfront combination therapy with endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE5i) is guideline-recommended for low- or intermediate-risk pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This study compared time to all-cause mortality for macitentan+PDE5i combination and each monotherapy.

methodsLong-term patient-level data (planned follow-up ≥1 year) were pooled from four clinical trials and three observational registries. All-cause mortality data were available from adults with incident PAH initiated on macitentan 10 mg or PDE5i monotherapy, or macitentan+PDE5i. Propensity-score (PS) methods balanced key demographic and disease characteristics across cohorts. Hazard ratios (HRs) were computed from a Cox-regression model that included PS-calculated weights. Weighted Kaplan-Meier estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed 6-monthly.

results2201 patients were included: 754 received macitentan+PDE5i (421 tadalafil, 324 sildenafil, 9 other), 654 macitentan, and 793 PDE5i (301 tadalafil, 490 sildenafil, 2 other). After weighting, characteristics were similar across cohorts. Upfront macitentan+PDE5i was associated with a 39% risk reduction of all-cause mortality versus PDE5i (HR 0.61 [95% CI 0.46-0.82]) and 32% versus macitentan (HR 0.68 [95% CI 0.37-0.95]). Reduction in all-cause mortality was 49% for macitentan+tadalafil vs tadalafil (HR 0.51 [95% CI 0.30-0.85]), 43% for macitentan+tadalafil vs macitentan (HR 0.57 [95% CI 0.37-0.88]), 31% for macitentan+sildenafil vs sildenafil (HR 0.69 [95% CI 0.45-1.0]) and 26% for macitentan+sildenafil vs macitentan (HR 0.74 [95% CI 0.46-1.17]).

conclusionThis large, pooled analysis suggests an observed statistical association indicating a potential survival benefit for early macitentan+PDE5i versus either monotherapy in newly diagnosed PAH.

Indexed as

Endothelin receptor antagonistMacitentanMortalityPhosphodiesterase-5 inhibitorPulmonary arterial hypertensionSurvivalUpfront combination therapy

Identifiers

PMID41568020
PMCPMC12818237

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.